Philosophy 200: Critical Reasoning



Philosophy 100: General Logic Tues., Thurs. 11:00 a.m.-12:40 p.m.

Instructor: C. Jacob Hale Sierra Hall 205

Spring 2009 Ticket #13870

Prerequisites: (1) Completion of GE Basic Skills Analytical Reading & Expository Writing, and

(2) Completion of either GE Basic Skills Mathematics or MATH 210

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Instructor: Office: Sierra Tower (ST) 526

Email: jacob.hale@csun.edu

Telephone: 818-677-7202

Office Hours: Tues., Thurs 2:45-3:45 p.m.,

and by appointment

Philosophy Dept.: Sierra Tower (ST) 522/524

Telephone: 818-677-2757

GENERAL INFORMATION

Catalog Description:

Study of deductive and inductive inferences. Attention to formal and informal fallacies and the relations of logic and language. Emphasis on critical thinking and the attainment of skill in it. Not open to students who have completed PHIL 200. (Available for General Education, Basic Skills, Critical Thinking)

Instructor's Description:

Arguments are the central focus of this course. We will work to improve your abilities to identify arguments and their parts; we will study the concepts used to evaluate arguments; we will learn two systems of formal logic that we can use evaluate certain kinds of deductive arguments known as categorical syllogisms and truth-functional arguments; and, we will learn to identify some common informal reasoning errors. We will emphasize "real life" arguments, that is, arguments that occur in everyday reasoning.

We will use a variety of different formats during class meetings, including lecture, discussion, working on exercises together, and small group work. Because this is a four-unit course, we will be able to devote a lot of time to working on problems in class.

This course satisfies the “Critical Thinking” component of the Basic Skills section of the General Education Program, which recognizes critical reasoning as a fundamental competence. Courses in this section of General Education take reasoning itself as their focus. Their goals are to provide students with criteria and methods for distinguishing good reasoning from bad and to help students develop basic reasoning skills that they can apply both within a broad range of academic disciplines and outside the academic environment. Students are expected to acquire skill in recognizing the logical structure of statements and arguments, the ability to distinguish rational from non-rational means of persuasion, skill in applying the principles of sound reasoning in the construction and evaluation of arguments, and an appreciation of the value of critical reasoning skills in the pursuit of knowledge.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING

Reading Assignments:

Textbook: Introduction to Logic, by C. Jacob Hale. Available in the Matador Bookstore. One copy is on reserve in the Oviatt Library, in the Reserves, Periodicals and Microform Department on the 4th Floor, East Wing.

Handouts distributed in class will contain additional reading assignments.

You should bring your textbook (and relevant handouts) to class with you, because we will spend much of our time in class working on practice problems in the textbook (and on handouts).

You are required to read materials assigned for any given class meeting before that class meeting. During each class meeting, I will assign specific pages to read for the next meeting. If you miss class, you are responsible for finding out reading assignments for the next class by contacting a classmate, or by contacting me by email or during office hours.

We will cover reading material in the following order:

Tips for Success in Philosophy 100 (handout)

Chapter 1: Identifying Arguments and Their Parts

Chapter 2: Argument Evaluation: The Basic Concepts

Chapter 3: Categorical Logic

Chapter 4: Truth-Functional Logic

Informal Fallacies (handout)

Written Assignments and Grading:

1. Quizzes and homework assignments, to be announced in class. Total: 50% of your course grade. There will be approximately six quizzes and approximately twelve homework assignments. All but one quiz will be multiple choice; you will need a Scantron QuizzStrip (the short form with room for 15 answers) and a No. 2 pencil for the multiple choice quizzes. Quizzes will be announced one class meeting before the class meeting in which they are given – unless I begin to suspect that a large percentage of students in the class are slacking off, in which case I reserve the right to give pop quizzes. On most – maybe all – homework assignments I will encourage you to work with classmates. There will be more points possible from homework assignments than from quizzes, and the total number of possible homework/quiz points will be in the range of 300-400. There will be some extra credit available on homework assignments, and there might be some extra credit assignments, but I will not record a total homework/quiz percentage higher than 110% for any student.

Late homework assignments will be accepted only with verification of personal or familial illness, injury, death, or other emergency; family-of-choice counts as family under this policy. Late quizzes will not be given, because we will go over the answers to quizzes as soon as they are turned in; you will be excused from a quiz only under the conditions described above for acceptance of late homework assignments. If you miss class, you are responsible for contacting a classmate or me to see if you have missed a homework assignment or a quiz announcement. Missing class does not excuse you from your responsibility to turn in homework assignments on time; if you miss class on a day when a homework assignment is due, it is your responsibility to make other arrangements to turn in your homework assignment on time.

2. Two examinations. Total: 50% of your course grade. The two examinations will be weighted equally; taken together, they will determine 50% of your course grade, so each exam is worth 25% of your course grade. The examinations will test a variety of skills covered in class prior to the exam and will contain two sections, weighted about equally to one another: a Scantron section, and a bluebook section in which students will be asked to apply course concepts and techniques to examples. Exam #1 will take place about halfway through the semester, and will cover Chapters 1 and 2; the exact date will be announced in class. Before each exam, I will give you a review sheet and practice exam (which will be assigned homework); also, we will set aside some time in class for pre-exam review. By the time you take the exam, you should not be surprised by any of the kinds of questions I ask you. Multiple choice exam questions will be modeled on quiz questions, questions in the "Sample Multiple Choice Questions" appendices to your textbook, and multiple choice questions on the practice exam. Bluebook exam questions will be modeled on practice problem sets in your textbook, homework assignment questions, and short answer questions on the practice exam. You will be allowed to bring a 4 x 6 inch index card of notes to each exam, but you may not use any other notes or your textbook during exams. A student must have an examination average of 50% or higher to pass this class; this does not guarantee passing the course – it is a minimum requirement. Exam #2 will take place during our last regularly schedule class meeting on Tuesday, December 8.

There IS NO final examination

Make-up exams will be administered only with my approval obtained prior to scheduled exams and only with verification of personal or familial illness, injury, death, or other emergency; family-of-choice counts as family under this policy.

"Plus"/"minus" grades will not be used in this course.

The following scale will be used to determine course grades:

A: 90% and above

B: 80-89.999...%

C: 70-79.999...%

D: 60-69.999...%

F: less than 60%

In borderline cases only, I will consider effort, informed classroom participation, and significant improvement. Regular attendance is a minimal expectation and will not be considered in borderline (or other) cases.

Other Policies:

Respect for one another is necessary if a classroom is to be an effective learning environment. I expect that all of us will treat each other with respect and will work to make and maintain an effective learning environment in the classroom. This has several consequences.

1. Respect. I expect you show respect for each other by participating in group work, by asking and answering questions that will help you and your classmates understand course material, and by listening to questions your classmates ask.

2. Disruptive behavior (including cell phones). I expect you to refrain from disruptive behavior, because otherwise you are showing disrespect for your classmates who want to learn and succeed in the course. This means, first, that while class is in session, you shouldn't talk over each other or over me, play computer games, check your email on your computer, or do other things that will distract your classmates or me. (You'll have chances to chat with each other a bit while doing group work.) This also means that cell phones (and other communication devices) must be off or set on a silent mode during class. Each time a student’s cell phone, or any other communication device, rings or makes noise during class, that student will lose 2 points. If a student’s cell phone, or any other communication device, rings or makes noise during an examination, that student will be required to hand in the exam at that point and to leave the class, not to return until the next class meeting. If a student talks on a cell phone in the classroom while class is in session, even if the phone does not ring or make noise, the penalty is the same as that for a cell phone ringing during class. (If you know that you might receive an emergency call during class, talk to me beforehand and we will make arrangements so that you can receive it.) Please don't think that I haven't mentioned a specific behavior here, it's all right to do it in class; I can't imagine in advance every possible kind of disruptive behavior. Here's the general rule: show respect for your classmates by refraining from any and all behavior that is likely to interference with their learning – use your common sense.

I reserve the right to deduct points, assign seating, or otherwise change classroom policies if there is excessive talking or other disruptive behavior.

3. Academic dishonesty. When you are working on the exams and the quizzes, you must do your own individual work. I will monitor to ensure that you do. For information on what counts as academic dishonesty and the possible penalties for acts of academic dishonesty, you may consult the CSUN Student Conduct Code, available at:



4. Attendance. I expect you to attend class regularly. Although I will neither record attendance nor grade on the basis of attendance, students who do not attend class regularly should not expect to understand the material, and therefore should not expect to succeed in this course. Second, arriving late and leaving early distracts both your classmates and me. Students who cannot regularly arrive on time and stay for the entire class period should not take this course. If an occasion arises on which you must arrive late, come in as quietly as possible and take the open seat that will disrupt your classmates the least, and if you must leave early, please let me know before class begins and leave as quietly as possible.

GOAL, STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES, & OBJECTIVES

Goal:

Students will analyze information and ideas carefully and logically from multiple perspectives and develop reasoned solutions to problems.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will:

1. Explain and apply the basic concepts essential to critical examination and evaluation of argumentative discourse;

2. Use investigative and analytical thinking skills to examine alternative, explore complex questions and solve challenging problems;

3. Synthesize information in order to arrive at reasoned conclusions;

4. Evaluate the logic and validity of arguments, and the relevance of data and information;

5. Recognize and avoid common logical and rhetorical fallacies.

Objectives:

1. Students will identify the parts of arguments – premises and conclusions (including subconclusions and main conclusions) – as they occur in everyday reasoning.

2. Students will identify and produce unstated conclusions.

3. Students will be able to determine whether or not written or oral communication is argumentative.

4. Students will recognize and produce definitions of the basic concepts used to evaluate arguments: deductive validity, deductive soundness, inductive strength, and inductive compellingness.

5. Students will identify and produce unstated premises.

6. Students will translate English arguments into two basic languages used in formal logic, namely, the language of categorical logic and the language of truth-functional logic.

7. Students will use Venn diagrams to test categorical syllogisms (including sorites) for deductive validity.

8. Students will recognize and use important logical operations, namely, negation, conjunction, disjunction, and conditional.

9. Students will use truth tables to test truth-functional arguments for validity.

10. Students will recognize some common valid truth-functional argument forms (e.g., modus ponens, modus tollens, disjunctive syllogism, hypothetical syllogism) and use them to construct proofs within a system of natural deduction.

11. Students will recognize some common truth-functional equivalencies (e.g., double negation, De Morgan's Laws, exportation) and use them to construct proofs within a system of natural deduction.

12. Students will recognize some common invalid truth-functional argument forms (e.g., affirming the consequent, denying the antecedent).

13. Students will recognize some common informal fallacies (e.g., ad hominem, begging the question, fallacy of equivocation, fallacy of composition, fallacy of division).

The SLOs are targeted by the corresponding Objectives as follows:

|SLO 1 |SLO 2 |SLO 3 |SLO 4 |SLO 5 |

|Objectives |Objectives |Objectives |Objectives |Objectives |

|1-11 |6-7, 9-11 |7-11 |5, 7-11 |12-13 |

Topics Covered:

The concept argument, identifying the parts of arguments: premises and conclusions, common conclusion indicators, common premise indicators, identifying who the arguer is, distinguishing arguments from other uses of language, determining whether or not an argument is present, adding unstated conclusions, identifying subconclusions and main conclusions, the basic concepts used to evaluate arguments, determining what kind of criticism of an argument is raised, validity and soundness of deductive arguments, strength and goodness of inductive arguments, the method of counterexample, adding unstated premises, recognizing the four standard forms of categorical claims, translating from natural language into the four standard forms, recognizing categorical syllogisms, using Venn diagrams to test categorical syllogisms for validity, adding unstated premises to categorical syllogisms, adding unstated conclusions to categorical syllogisms, recognizing sorites, testing sorites for validity, applying the method of counterexample to categorical syllogisms and sorites, truth-functional connectives, translating from natural language into the language of truth-functional logic, truth-functional equivalence, using complete truth tables to test truth-functional arguments for validity, using short truth tables to test truth-functional arguments for validity, common valid argument forms, common invalid argument forms (i.e., fallacies), adding unstated premises to common valid argument forms, adding unstated conclusions to common valid and invalid argument forms, formal proof by natural deduction, informal fallacies.

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